“Wow, this place is fancy!”
Elksia was overflowing with joy as she and her oldest friends entered the Kinigi Life Oasis. Waiving them through at the entrance was a small, white Rethan with an icy look to them. Retvik gave a small nod to the little Rethan, then led Tenuk and Elksia deeper into the oasis.
The three of them passed two bars and some small hotel rooms before reaching an insanely luxurious swimming pool with a bar beside it. Retvik sat Elksia and Tenuk down, before disappearing behind the bar. He swiftly returned with three large, sparkling cocktails.
“So, what do you think?” Retvik asked as he relaxed into his chair. It was clearly a little too small for him, but he still looked comfy.
“This place is fancy as fuck…” Tenuk muttered, a hint of jealousy in his voice. “Way nicer than my current place at the ass-end of the universe.”
Elksia nodded in agreement. “Tenuk’s place is a little bit basic but it’s still nice. My place is nearly as fancy. Far fewer crystal shinies though!”
“Where DO you live?” Retvik asked. “I know Tenuk is doing his Divine Guardian thing, but you seem to have a different job.”
“I’m learning Time God stuff!” Elksia beamed. “I help Kairos with his chores! Also I do bis job for him when Seimeni comes round.”
“Seimeni?” Retvik blinked. “She lives nearby?”
“Yep! She’s fucking Kairos. Way more than Tenuk fucks me.”
Retvik eyed Tenuk, then shrugged. “As long as you two are happy.”
“Oh we are happy,” Tenuk smiled a little. “Honestly haven’t been this happy for a long time.”
“Your servitude to Kinisis does not bother you?”
Tenuk shrugged as he took a sip of his drink. “Eh, it’s kinda weird, but I essentially got immortality from the whole ordeal, so I really can’t complain. Guard duty does kinda get boring after a while though.”
“All jobs have some downtime,” Revik shrugged as well. “While I am still upset about Arkay, and have been attacked multiple times, I cannot complain either.”
“Wait!” Elksia suddenly exclaimed. “What even IS your job?”
Retvik tutted. “I am not too sure myself, if I am brutally honest. We so a lot of varied things. Mostly mapping, but with part-time contract work too. Currently we are just working as security for this Life Oasis.”
Elksia glanced around behind herself. “But… There is no one here!”
“Yes, but at some point, I assume we will have guests. In the meantime, the four us get to use all the Life Oasis’s facilities for free.”
“Seems like a nice deal…” Tenuk paused. “By the way, who IS that white icy guy who let us in? I remember Litvir from when we were mind-controlled and fought each other, but the little guy seems new.”
Retvik grunted. “It is a long story. Kuta is Litvir’s twin brother. Thought he was dead until we realized that he had been a parasite inside Litvir. He just…” Retvik paused, shuddering. “It was a rather horrific mess, but Kuta has proven himself.”
“What do you mean by ‘parasite’?”
The Decay Lord tutted some more. “Let us just say that it involved an egg and lots of slime, as most pregnancies are.”
Elksia and Tenuk glanced at each other, then simply shrugged. “At least this place is nice and relaxing!”
Retvik nodded in agreement. “It is so good seeing you again. We need to do this regularly.”
“We really do!” Elksia giggled as she downed her drink. “Can I get another one, Retty?”
Retvik smiled as he got up from the table. “Of course, Elksia. Anything you two want, just ask…”